In the reminder that the government through ELGA disbursed only in the previous four years one billion euros for compensations, an amount much greater than the farmers’ contributions and that this difference was covered by the budget, something that could not be done if our economy did not go well, said the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the discussion he had with the president of the Hellenic American Chamber, Nikolaos Bakatselos, as part of the Chamber’s event entitled “Fostering a Sustainable Economic Future Amidst Global Challenges”, at the Athens Concert Hall. Also, the prime minister emphasized that the government fairly manages the requests of various social groups, while meaningfully noting that politics is the thankless job of allocating specific resources to endless needs.

Watch video of the prime minister’s speech:

Regarding the implementation of the reforms, Mr. Mitsotakis made it clear that it is the duty of the government to proceed with these changes always through a process of dialogue and consultation, since, as he said, there is strong political legitimacy and absolute transparency in terms of governmental intentions. He added that “all these reforms they compose a puzzle of big changes, with the aim of keeping our country on a path of rapid convergence with Europe.

The prime minister set as a prerequisite for maintaining economic growth the exercise of a prudent fiscal policy and in terms of attracting foreign investment he observed that “Greece currently offers political stability, a predictable horizon, reduced political risk, significant comparative advantages, resulting from its geographical position in a number of sectors, such as tourism, energy and the provision of specific services, as well as an excellent human resource”.

Mr. Mitsotakis clarified that “social cohesion is only ensured if there is social justice in terms of the distribution of the wealth produced” and reiterated that “at some point inflation will subside, but wage increases are here to stay.”

With regard to the reform of the postal vote, the prime minister described as hypocritical the attitude of the opposition parties, who, as he said, invoked procedural issues in order not to vote for the amendment to extend the postal vote to the national elections. “I assure them that we will come back next autumn and then everyone will be convinced that its extension should be voted on postal vote at least for our fellow citizens who live abroad”, he characteristically said.

Finally, to the question about what is his vision for the future of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized that “between a vision and a plan, I prefer the plan. We have a plan for where we want to take the country and this requires an organization, a goal-setting, separation between short-term and long-term goals. This plan results in a Greece that will converge and surpass Europe in many of the critical indicators and will have definitively left behind the decade of crisis. And it will be able to allow as many Greeks as possible to see the future with optimism.”